Ski boot toe fixture

ABSTRACT

A boot toe supporting body is set in a boot toe engaging position by a compression spring and cam means, said compression spring being provided between a ball on a base plate and said supporting body and, thereby, urging said supporting body upwards. Said cam means comprises a cam plate and a vertical pin, said cam plate being fixed or integral with said supporting body and having a protrusion, said vertical pin passing through holes of said cam plate and supporting body and being fixed at its lower end to said base plate. The vertical pin has a projection which is cooperative with said protrusion of said cam plate and locates above said protrusion to restrict the upward movement of said supporting body while the toe fixture is in a toe engaging position. When the supporting body rotates about said vertical pin due to severe twisting force applied to the toe, said supporting body goes up or floats from said base plate as said projection on said vertical pin is displaced from said protrusion.

United States Patent [1 1 Sasaki et a1.

l SKI BOOT TOE FIXTURE [75 Inventors: Rokoru Sasaki; Toshio Miya, both of Tokyo, Japan [73] Assignee: Hope Kabushiki Kalsha, Tokyo,

Japan [22] Filed: Apr. 27, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 248,229

Primary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Robert R. Song Att0rneyEli0t S. Gerber 451 July 3,1973

[5 7] ABSTRACT A boot toe supporting body is set in a boot toe engaging position by a compression spring and cam means, said compression spring being provided between a ball on a base plate and said supporting body and, thereby, urging said supporting body upwards. Said cam means comprises a cam plate and a vertical pin, said cam plate being fixed or integral with said supporting body and having a protrusion, said vertical pin passing through holes of said cam plate and supporting body and being fixed at its lower end to said base plate. The vertical pin has a projection which is cooperative with said pr0trusion of said cam plate and locates above said protrusion to restrict the upward movement of said supporting body while the toe fixture is in a toe engaging position. When the supporting body rotates about said vertical pin due to severe twisting force applied to the toe, said supporting body goes up or floats from said base plate as said projection on said vertical pin is displaced from said protrusion.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures SKI BOOT TOE FIXTURE This invention relates to a ski boot toe fixture to be attached to a ski in cooperation with a heel binding.

A ski boot toe fixture is designed to rotate about a pivot to release a skiers boot toe when a twisting force severe enough to cause a sprain or fracture of his foot. To this end, many kinds of ski boot toe fixtures have been proposed.

However, most of the ski boot toe fixtures rotate only in the horizontal direction about their pivots, which requires the boot toe to rotate in the horizontal direction before it is released therefrom. The twisting force applied to the skiers boot toe is not limited to the horizontal direction, so that the conventional ski boot toe fixtures do often not follow to the twisting force actually applied in skiing.

Furthermore, in the conventional ski boot toe fixture, since the boot toe supporting body is in contact with the fixed plate when the former rotates on the latter, it was difficult to obtain a desired adjustment for the releasing force, due to the friction therebetween.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a ski boot toe fixture which positively and easily release the boot toe when a dangerous twisting force is applied to the boot toe.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a ski boot toe fixture which floats or goes up while rotating to release a boot toe.

Further object of the present invention is to provide a ski boot toe fixture in which a force for engaging a boot toe supporting body to a base plate is accurately adjusted.

' According to the present invention, a ski boot toe fixture is provided which comprises a base plate to be fixed on a ski, a boot toe supporting body rotatably mounted upon said base plate, spring means provided at rear portion of said supporting body and compressed between a ball on said base plate and said supporting body to urge the latter upwards, and cam means having a cam plate and a vertical pin, said cam plate being fixed or integral with said supporting body and having a protrusion, said vertical pin passing through holes of said cam plate and supporting body and being fixed at its lower end to said base plate, said vertical pin having a projection which is cooperative with said protrusion of said cam plate and locates above and protrusion to restrict the upward movement of said supporting body while the toe fixture is in a toe engaging position, whereby when a twisting force strong enough to overcome the compression force of the spring is applied to the boot toe, the supporting body rotates about said vertical pin and goes up from the base plate as the projection on the vertical pin is displaced from the protrusion.

The aforementioned and other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a ski boot toe fixture according to the present invention, wherein chain lines show a partially rotated position thereof,

FIG. 2 is a sectioned side view of the ski boot toe fixture shown in FIG. 1, wherein the toe fixture is in the boot toe engaging position,

FIG. 3 is a partially sectioned side view of the ski boot toe fixture shown in FIG. 2, wherein the toe fixture is partially rotated to release the boot toe,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a base plate 'in the ski boot toe fixture,

FIG. 5 is a front view showing the base plate in FIG. 4 and a ball thereon, and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a pin and a cam plate, which form a cam assembly in the ski boot toe fixture.

Referring now to FIGURES, reference numeral 1 designates a base plate to be attached on a ski by bolts adapted to pass through holes 2 therein. The base plate 1 is provided substantially at its center portion with a hole 3 and at its rear end (left end in FIG. 4) with a pair of protuberances 4-4, which are, as best shown in FIG. 5 spaced from each other and gradually become high toward both sides thereof.

Mounted upon the base plate 1 is a boot toe supporting body 10 which comprises a central thick portion 11 and a rear vertical portion 12, through each of which a central bore 13 and a rear bore 14 are provided, respectively. The upper opening of the supporting body 10 is closed by a cover 15. The central bore 13 in the supporting body 10 has a larger diameter than the central hole 3 in the base plate I.

A cam plate 21 having a hole 22 therein is fixed by its ears 23 upon the thick portion 11 of the supporting body 10 with its hole 22 being in an alignment with the central bore 13. The cam plate 21 comprises two protrusions 24-24 at both sides thereof and is so fixed that the protrusions 24-24 are at left and right sides of the supporting body 10 as shown in FIG. 2.

A pin 25 having a major cylindrical portion 26 and a reduced lower end portion 27 is inserted through the central bore 13 in the supporting body 10 and the central hole 3 in the base plate 1. The lower end of the pin 25 penetrated through the central hole 3 in the base plate 1 is deforemd and calked against the bottom surface of the base plate 1. The pin. 25 is provided at its cylindrical upper portion 26 with projections 28-28 which locate on the protrusions 24-24 of the cam plate 21 in the boot te engaging position shown in FIG. 2. Thereby, the pin 25 and the came plate 21 form a cam assembly 20.

A ball 30 is snugly provided within the rear bore 14 in the supporting body 10 and is pressed down upon the protuberances 4-4 of the base plate 1 by a compression spring 31, which is also contained in the rear bore 14. The pressure of the spring 31 is adjustable by an adjusting bolt 32 threaded to the upper portion of the rear bore 14. In the boot toe engaging position shown in FIG. 2, the ball 30 is between the two protuberances 4--4 as shown by a silid line in FIG. 5.

At the rear ends of the suporting body 10 (left hand in FIGS. 1 to 3), a pair of boot toe holding members are supported by respective screws 41-4l so as to be adjustable to the up and down. The boot toe holding membrs 40-40 are set to the position shown by solid lines in FIG. 1 by spring loaded pins 42 pressed against rear walls of the supporting body 10 and are partially rotatable in the horizontal direction against the pins 42 when the ski boot is to be released.

The ski boot toe fixture according to the present invention is so constructed that, in the boot toe engaging position shown in FIG. 2, the supporting body 10 is urged upwards by the compression spring 31, which presses down the ball 30 on the base plate 1. However, the upward movement of the supporting body 10 is restricted by the cam assembly 20. That is, the protrusions 2424 of the cam plate 21 fixed to the supporting body 10 locate directly below the projections 28-28 on the pin 25 which is calked at its lower end to the base plate 1.

However, when a twisting force severe enough to move the ball 30 from the space between the protuberances 4-4 of the fixed plate 1 onto one of the protuberances 4--4 as shown by chain line in FIG. 5 is applied to the skiers foot, the boot toe supporting body as well as the cam plate 21 start rotating about the pin 25 as shown by chain lines in FIG. 1. Thus, the protrusions 24-24 of the cam plate 21 cannot locate directly below th projections 28-28 on the pin 25 any more. Then, by action of the spring 31 which is compressed between the ball 30 and the adjusting bolt 32 threaded to the supporting body 10, the supporting body 10 floats or goes up until the flat portion of the cam plate 21 contacts to the projections 2828.

Thus, the supporting body 10 according to the present toe fixture floats or goes up while rotating, thereby releasing the boot toe very easily and positively. The boot toe holding members 4040 partially rotate outwardly by a relatively small force compressing the spring loaded pins 42-42 to facilitate the removal of the boot toe from the fixture.

Furthermore, since the supporting body 10 of the present toe fixture floats while rotating to the boot toe releasing position, the compression force of the spring 31 does not change or, if changed, trifling while the ball 30 rises along the protuberances 4-4 on the base plate 1. Accordingly, once the severe twisting force is applied to the present toe fixture, the supporting body 10 rotates positively and smoothly to the boot toe releasing position. Though the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, many modifications and alternations may be made within the spirit of the present invention. For example, the cam plate 21 may be integral with the thick portion 11 of the supporting body. The boot toe holding members 40-40 may be a single piece which embraces the tip portions of boot toe.

What is claimed is:

l. A ski boot toe fixture comprising a base plate to be fixed on a ski, a boot toe supporting body rotatably mounted upon said base plate, spring means provided at rear portion of said supporting body and compressed between a ball on said base plate and said supporting body to urge the latter upwards, and cam means having a cam plate and a vertical pin, said cam plate being fixed or integral with said supporting body and having a protrusion, said vertical pin passing through holes of said cam plate and supporting body and being fixed at its lower end to said base plate, said vertical pin having a projection which is cooperative with said protrusion of said cam plate and locates above said protrusion to restrict the upward movement of said supporting body while the toe fixture is in a toe engaging position, whereby when a twisting force strong enough to overcome the compression force of the spring is applied to the boot toe, the supporting body rotates about said vertical pin and goes up from the base plate as the projection on the vertical pin is displaced from the protrusion.

2. A ski boot toe fixture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said supporting body comprses a central thick portion through which said vertical pin is passed and calked at its lower end to said base plate; said cam plate has two protrusions at both sides of said supporting body; said vertical pin has two horizontal projections cooperative with said two protrusions on said cam plate.

3. A ski boot toe fixture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said base plate comprises a pair of protuberances between which said ball is pressed down by said compression spring, each of said protuberances becom ing gradually higher toward the outer side thereof.

I claim:

a retractable inner scraper bowl secured inside the main scraper bowl, bowl,

a series of hydraulic rams secured on one end to the said cross members and secured on their opposite ends to the said inner bowl, members,

an ejecter plate secured to the said guide rails by rollers and pin connecting means, and 

1. A ski boot toe fixture comprising a base plate to be fixed on a ski, a boot toe supporting body rotatably mounted upon said base plate, spring means provided at rear portion of said supporting body and compressed between a ball on said base plate and said supporting body to urge the latter upwards, and cam means having a cam plate and a vertical pin, said cam plate being fixed or integral with said supporting body and having a protrusion, said vertical pin passing through holes of said cam plate and supporting body and being fixed at its lower end to said base plate, said vertical pin having a projection which is cooperative with said protrusion of said cam plate and locates above said protrusion to restrict the upward movement of said supporting body while the toe fixture is in a toe engaging position, whereby when a twisting force strong enough to overcome the compression force of the spring is applied to the boot toe, the supporting body rotates about said vertical pin and goes up from the base plate as the projection on the vertical pin is displaced from the protrusion.
 2. A ski boot toe fixture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said supporting body comprses a central thick portion through which said vertical pin is passed and calked at its lower end to said base plate; said cam plate has two protrusions at both sides of said supporting body; said vertical pin has two horizontal projections cooperative with said two protrusions on said cam plate.
 3. A ski boot toe Fixture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said base plate comprises a pair of protuberances between which said ball is pressed down by said compression spring, each of said protuberances becoming gradually higher toward the outer side thereof. 